Is Laminate Flooring Right For You?
Laminate flooring is a staple of millions of homes as a dependable, easy-maintenanceeconomy flooring.
Laminate floorswere invented in 1977 by the Swedish company Perstorp.
The Spruce / Margot Cavin
Laminate floors never need wet mopping.
A dry mop or broom will take care of most of the dust and dirt.
Scratch-resistant due to its tough wear layer, laminate flooring is well-suited forhomes with petsand children.
The Spruce / Margot Cavin
While laminate flooring’s wear layer is surprisingly tough, the boards are easily chipped.
Laminate flooring is not suitable for any place where moisture is prevalent.
Laminate flooring will be ruined if water is allowed to pool on the surface for too long.
Both laminate flooring and vinyl flooring are moderately priced.
They are equally easy for do-it-yourselfers to install and they have a similar look.
Laminate Floor vs Solid Hardwood
Hardwood flooring is 100-percent solid wood.
Laminate has no solid wood.
Solid hardwood is thick and can be sanded many times.
Laminate is thin and can never be sanded because the top is not wood.
Solid hardwood and laminate flooring can look remarkably alike, especially from a distance.
High-definition imaging techniques make some laminate flooring a dead-ringer for real hardwood.
Laminate flooring does not have the plywood base, nor does it have the natural real wood veneer top.
Both engineered wood flooring and laminate flooring have a base made of a bang out of manufactured wood.
Both products can look remarkably similar, especially with the premium laminate flooring.
Laminate Floor vs Tile or Stone
Laminate flooring contains no stone or mineral products.
Stone is all stone, while ceramic tile is mineral-based.
Stone and tile are hard, solid, and thick.
Laminate flooring is flexible, breakable, and thin.
At the very bottom is a thin underlayment.
Installation Method
Laminate floors are installed much likesolid hardwood flooringsince they have a modifiedtongue-and-groovestyle of joining boards.
Laminate flooring is usually installed as afloating floor.
A floating floor bypasses the difficult nail-downinstallation issues of hardwoodor engineered wood.
Friction and weight hold laminate flooring in place.
Depending on the key in you buy, laminate floor planks are either snapped together or glued together.
The snap-together method most commonly used goes under various names such as fold-and-lay or fold-and-lock.
Next, one board is folded down until it is as flat as its companion board.
Subfloor and Underlayment
Like all floor coverings, laminate floors need a good,solid subfloor.
